L.A. Opens Former ‘Drunk Farm’ to Bids

Despite warnings that the probable advent of cityhood in the Santa Clarita Valley could lessen the land’s value, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to put the long-abandoned Saugus “drunk farm” out to bid for sale or long-term lease.

Once bids are gathered, the council will determine what to do with the 520 acres, which the city bought in 1951 for use as an alcoholic rehabilitation center.

City Councilman Ernani Bernardi and several other lease advocates argued that the land should be leased to a company or organization for development as a mobile-home park to replace parks displaced by redevelopment in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

Councilwoman Joy Picus countered: “We should cut our losses and sell now.”

All agreed that cityhood is likely to be approved by Santa Clarita Valley voters Nov. 3 and that the new city council is likely to have a slow-growth orientation.

Nonetheless, City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie has advocated outright sale, even though he concedes that it could be a year or more before a local city council determines what development to allow on the property.

Comrie estimates that the land will bring at least $10 million.

“We don’t feel that any of the lease offers we have received are workable,” said Bill Mercer, principal analyst in Comrie’s office.

In 1985, Mayor Tom Bradley offered the property to the state for a prison, but Gov. George Deukmejian rejected the site as unacceptable for a prison because of its proximity to homes.

Last month, the Los Angeles Union for the Homeless urged the council to designate the property for use by the homeless, but council members said the land is too remote and lacks facilities.

Zoning Delayed Action

The council first voted in 1984 to sell the Bouquet Canyon property, which has not been used since the alcoholic rehabilitation center was closed in 1967. However, disposition has been held up by the fact that the property is zoned by Los Angeles County for agriculture.

Until recently, city representatives have been negotiating with county officials to rezone the land for residential development in exchange for splitting the proceeds.

But Comrie’s office recommended in July that negotiations be ended because the city was receiving offers from buyers willing to take their chances about getting the land rezoned.

Mercer said that if the land is rezoned for residential development under county standards, from 900 to 1,800 houses could be built.

He added that a recent interest by the Castaic Lake Water Agency in buying the 20 highest acres on the property for a water reclamation plant “has a potential for greatly increasing the property’s value.”

Without the plant, only the property’s 270 low-lying acres could be developed, Mercer said.

But with the water plant on the highest part of the property, a developer could build large-lot homes on other hilly portions of the land, he said.